|
 Buchanan County
Land Area: 504 square miles
Population (2000): 26,978
Buchanan County stretches across the coal-bearing hills of the Appalachian
Plateau. Over the eons, small streams carved the landscape into a complicated
network of forested hills and deep hollows. These hills and hollows
are home to thousands of gracious mountaineers who live in small, close-knit
communities.
 Coal dominates the economy - Buchanan produces
12 million tons of coal each year, about 35% of Virginia's total tonnage.
Other major elements of the economy are trade, service industries, and
transfer payments (retirement pensions, disability income, and welfare
benefits). In 1995, the largest employers were the school board, Island
Creek Coal Company, Consolidation Coal, Buchanan General Hospital, and
Keen Mountain Correctional Center.
There are several small towns in Buchanan County, including Grundy (pop.
1,105), which is the seat of government, Vansant (pop. 989). Breaks
Interstate Park is on the Buchanan-Dickenson County border, offering
opportunities for hiking, biking, horseback riding, swimming, boating,
and fishing. The Rhododendron Room at the Park offers excellent food
in a spectacular setting above the grand canyon of the south.
Death rates from several common causes are higher in Buchanan County than in Virginia - e.g., heart disease (+46%), cancer (+15%), chronic lower respiratory diseases (+47%), unintentional injury (+123%), pneumonia and influenza (+46%), diabetes (+24%), suicide (+115%), chronic liver disease (+101%), and nephritis and nephrosis (+42%). Death rates from some causes are lower in Buchanan than in Virginia overall: stroke (-27%) and Alzheimer's disease (-18%).
The total pregnancy rate among women aged 15-44 in Buchanan County is 41% lower than in Virginia . The teenage pregnancy rate is 9% lower than in Virginia . Women in Buchanan are just as likely as women in Virginia overall to receive prenatal care in the first trimester. Babies born to Buchanan residents are 8% more likely than Virginia babies to be of low birth weight, but the infant mortality rate in the county is 24% less than the infant mortality rate in Virginia .
 The population of Buchanan County is less
prosperous than the population of Virginia. The poverty rate in Buchanan
is 140% higher than the Virginia rate. The per capita income of Buchanan
Countians is only 53% of the per capita income of Virginians. The proportion
of Buchanan Countians over the age of 25 without a high school diploma
is 155% higher than in Virginia. Given the relative poverty and poor
health status of the population, it seems clear that Buchanan Countians
stand to benefit from increased access to primary care.
|
Population Health
|
Buchanan |
Virginia |
| Disabled Population, Ages 5-20 (2000) |
9.7% |
8.1% |
| Disabled Population, Ages 21-64 (2000) |
39.4% |
17.5% |
| Disabled Population, Ages 65+ (2000) |
64.6% |
42.1% |
| |
|
|
| Age Adjusted Death Rate Per 100,000 Population (1998 - 2002 avg.) - Diseases of the Heart |
317.4 |
218.0 |
| Age Adjusted Death Rate Per 100,000 Population (1998 - 2002 avg.) - Malignant Neoplasms |
218.7 |
190.0 |
| Age Adjusted Death Rate Per 100,000 Population (1998 - 2002 avg.) - Cerebrovascular Diseases |
42.8 |
58.3 |
| Age Adjusted Death Rate Per 100,000 Population (1998 - 2002 avg.) - COPD |
74.2 |
39.2 |
| Age Adjusted Death Rate Per 100,000 Population (1998 - 2002 avg.) - Unintentional Injury |
73.3 |
32.8 |
| Age Adjusted Death Rate Per 100,000 Population (1998 - 2002 avg.) - Pneumonia and Influenza |
28.3 |
22.7 |
| Age Adjusted Death Rate Per 100,000 Population (1998 - 2002 avg.) - Diabetes Mellitus |
27.0 |
21.7 |
| Age Adjusted Death Rate Per 100,000 Population (1998 - 2002 avg.) - Suicide |
23.9 |
11.1 |
| Age Adjusted Death Rate Per 100,000 Population (1998 - 2002 avg.) - Septicemia |
16.2 |
15.4 |
| Age Adjusted Death Rate Per 100,000 Population (1998 - 2002 avg.) - Nephritis and Nephrosis |
22.2 |
15.6 |
| Age Adjusted Death Rate Per 100,000 Population (1998 - 2002 avg.) - Chronic Liver Disease/Cirrhosis |
15.5 |
7.7 |
| Age Adjusted Death Rate Per 100,000 Population (1998 - 2002 avg.) - Alzheimers Disease |
13.0 |
15.9 |
| |
|
|
| Total Pregnancy Terminations (Residents) Per 1,000 Females Aged 15-44 (1998 - 2002 avg.) |
48.6 |
82.6 |
| Teenage Pregnancies Per 1,000 Females Aged 10-19 (1998 - 2002 avg.) |
28.4 |
31.3 |
| Percent of Resident Live Births Beginning Prenatal Care in 1st Trimester (1998 - 2002 avg.) |
84.5% |
84.8% |
| Low Weight Live Births as a Percent of Total Births (1998 - 2002 avg.) |
8.5% |
7.9% |
| Resident Infant Deaths Per 1,000 Lives Births (1998 - 2002 avg.) |
5.5 |
7.2 |
| |
|
|
| Economic Indicators |
|
|
| Population with Medicaid (2004) |
25.9% |
10.8% |
| Poverty Rate (2000) |
23.2% |
9.6% |
| Per Capita Income (2000) |
$12.788 |
$23,975 |
| Population Aged 16+ in Labor Force (2000) |
39.8% |
66.8% |
| Population Aged 25+ w/o High School Diploma (2000) |
47.1% |
18.5% |
| |
|
|
| Employment By Industry |
|
|
| Agriculture, Forestry, Mining, Fishing, Hunting |
15.6% |
1.3% |
| Construction |
7.5% |
7.3% |
| Manufacturing |
6.4% |
11.3% |
| Retail and Wholesale Trade |
14.0% |
14.1% |
| Transportation and Warehousing and Utilities |
7.7% |
4.6% |
| Information |
1.8% |
3.8% |
| Finance, Insurance, Real Estate, Rental and Leasing |
3.9% |
6.6% |
| Professional, Scientific, Management, Adminstrative, and Waste
Management Services |
4.4% |
11.6% |
| Education, Health, and Social Services |
24.3% |
18.3% |
| Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, Accommodation and Food Services |
3.3% |
7.2% |
| Public Administration |
5.7% |
8.3% |
| Other Services |
5.4% |
5.4% |
Links
Buchanan County - http://www.cppdc.org/index.htm
Buchanan County - http://www.vaswpromise.com/
Wellmont Buchanan General Hospital - http://www.wellmont.org/Facilities/BGH/bgh.html
Cumberland Plateau Health District - http://www.vdh.state.va.us/LHD/cumbplat/cumbplat.htm
Grundy (town) - http://www.grundyvirginia.com/
Appalachian School of Law - http://www.asl.edu/
|